Vacation
by TigerButterflied
Summary: Two friends grow closer on vacation in Hawaii. Unadulterated Sandles fluff.
1. Chapter 1

Vacation ch 1

Characters aren't mine; no money made. Here's Chapter One of my answer to the Vacation Challenge. More to come...

"I can't believe he's MAKING me take two weeks off. You know why, don't you? I maxed out on overtime again. He's punishing me."

Greg smiled at her indignation. "No, he's making you take off 'cause he's afraid you'll make the department pay you for all your saved vacation once the year changes, and that would make the entire lab go broke. Look on the bright side, Sara. It's a vacation."

She snorted. "A vacation sitting in my living room alone watching TV. I don't think I'm up to that kind of excitement."

"So negative." He turned and faced her with a grin. "Well, I have a little surprise for you. You aren't the only one being forced to take vacation. I've been at the lab eight years, never took any time off except sick leave after the explosion. Grissom called me in last night, says I have some huge amount of time saved up and I'm going to have to start taking some of it. I am also taking a two-week mandatory break."

"Yeah, well, at least YOU'LL figure out how to have some fun."

"You've got that right. I'm going to spend those two weeks at my aunt's resort in Hawaii - and I'm taking YOU with me."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

He grabbed her wrist. "No, Sara; I'm serious. Food and lodging are free, and I'm paying your airfare if you'll just come with me. Please?"

Sara sighed. He was giving her the puppy dog eyes. How could she say no to Hawaii AND Greg with puppy dog eyes? "I'll pay for my own plane ticket, Greg."

"So you'll go?" "If you really want me to."

"Yes!" He grinned and pulled her into a hug. "Sara, we are going to have so much fun! And I've already paid for the tickets. All you have to do now is pack.

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Greg slid into the seat next to Sara. "You're going to love this place. We'll have our own individual cottage. There's a great restaurant on the complex, and each cottage has its own kitchen and a charcoal grill out front. You're going to love my Aunt Alice. She's cool! Her place has its own private beach. We can swim and surf and scuba dive. Like I said, you are going to love it!"

She smiled at him. "Thank you for this, Greg. This is without a doubt the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."

He grinned and took her hand. "Thank YOU for agreeing to come along. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun by myself. Besides, I had a coupon for two-for-one airfare." He looked over her and out the window of the station wagon that served as one of the resort shuttles. "Almost there."

The shuttle pulled up in front of an elegant 3-story white brick building. Greg grabbed Sara's wrist and hopped out. "We'll be right back," he said to the driver. "After we check in he'll drive us to our cottage. After that, everything we need is within walking distance. Wait until you meet my Aunt Alice."

A tanned, heavyset woman in her early sixties sat behind the counter smoking a cigarette. When she spied Greg she yelled. "Whooh! My favorite nephew is here! Bring it on over here, Greggo! " She sailed around the counter and pulled him into a hug. "I have missed you, baby. Used to have you all summer every summer. Then you graduated and got a job. I wish you'd find work on the island."

Greg was blushing. "I wish I could too. No beaches in Vegas, and no Aunt Alice to make over me."

Alice grinned over at Sara. "From the looks of it you have someone making over you just fine. Are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?"

"Oh, sorry. Alice, this is my friend Sara. Sara, Alice."

"Pleased to meet you, Sara. You're the first girl he's ever brought over to see me. Does that mean you two might be thinking about tying the knot sometime soon? We do weddings here, you know - lovely, romantic ones."

"Aunt Alice, you're embarrassing Sara. We're just friends." Alice snorted. "Right. Well, here's your cottage key. Number 7, your very favorite. Come back by for dinner and I'll kick your ass at chess like I usually do."

Greg grinned. "You probably will."


	2. Chapter 2

"So what do you want to do first?" Greg was unpacking as he talked, putting his clothes into his bedroom chest of drawers.

Sara was already done putting her things away, so she sat cross legged on his bed watching him finish up. "I'd like to see the beach."

He grinned. "But of course. I need to get my surfboard and scuba stuff from Aunt Alice's attic, and then we'll be set for anything. If you ask nicely she'll probably let you use her old scuba setup."

"I don't know how to scuba dive..." He grinned broadly. "There's a licensed dive instructor on site. You're going to love diving; I guarantee it!"

"I don't know how to surf either." He grinned. "I do. I can teach you."

"You're just a regular dolphin, aren't you?"

Greg grinned. "I've always tried to maintain my sense of porpoise."

She laughed. "I need to change into a swimsuit. "

"Ooooh! Do I get to watch?"

"You wish."

"You're right. I do wish. But if you aren't willing to bring a little excitement into a dear friend's drab life, you can change in your own room."

"Thanks, Greg. I think I'll do just that."

When she walked back in wearing a black bikini a few minutes later, Greg looked her over thoroughly. "I didn't know you had a belly button ring. I like it."

She grinned. "Thanks."

"I like your other tattoo, too. Let me see..." He carefully examined the salmon pink orchid on the side of her hip. It was detailed, about the size of his palm. "That is beautiful. The shading is amazing. It's stunning," he whispered. "I have a tattoo fetish."

"But strangely enough, no ink of your own."

He raised his eyebrows. "And how would you know that?"

"The decontamination shower."

"Almost a year ago. I will have you know I lost my tattoo virginity three months ago."

"I don't believe you." She smirked. "Let me see."

"It's on my backside." He unbuttoned his jeans, then hesitated at the zipper. "Still want to see?"

"Of course."

He turned and carefully pulled down his jeans, then his shorts. Sure enough, there on one cheek was a very large, wickedly grinning Tasmanian Devil. "I, um, I was drunk."

"Yes. I believe that you were. Still, it's very well done." She snickered. "Greg Sanders has Taz on his butt. It fits." He pulled up his pants. "Nice ass, by the way. You should wear tighter pants to show it off."

"Thanks. Um, unless you want the whole show you need to step out because I need to get changed."

"I'll leave you to it, then." "You sure? 'Cause you can watch if you want..."


	3. Chapter 3

Sara lay on the beach gasping. Finally, finally, she'd gotten the hang of it! Surfing wasn't as easy as it looked on television, not by a long shot, but after Greg showed her how (and spent hours helping her practice) she managed to do it. Not really well, and only for a few seconds, but she'd surfed!

"You did it!" he screamed. "I'm so proud of you! You did it!"

"That was... so much fun..."

"I told you ! " He squatted down beside her. "I knew you'd love it."

She sighed. "That was great."

"Ready to do it again?"

"Oh, yeah..."

A few hours later, they were watching the sun set from their table on the deck of "Alice's Restaurant."

"I'm glad you still eat seafood," said Greg. "If you didn't you'd forever miss Alice's famous Pina Colada shrimp."

"This is so good. I want the recipe."

Greg grinned. "I HAVE the recipe. Any time you want I'll make them for you."

"You cook?"

"Of course I cook - very well, I might add. I'm a chemist, and great cooking is all about knowing exactly what it is you're doing to the food. Plus, I'm a Taurus. " He smirked. "We're all really good at cooking and making love. We take our time at both, pay attention to what we're doing, never try to hurry things along."

"Oh, really? I knew you were a Taurus - I thought that just made you stubborn. And full of bull."

"Nope. There's more to this bull than stubbornness. You should make a point of finding out."

"I might have to do just that." She chuckled at his look of astonishment. "What are you going to cook for me, Greg?"

"Lime Tanquerey Juniper salmon, Pine Nut Rice Pilaf, squash casserole, and a nice salad. Cheesecake for dessert."

"Sounds good."

"It will be." His eyes sparkled. "Food and sex are very much alike, you know."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, they are. Both can feed the heart and soul as well as the body. Both can made carefully to show love and nurturing, or carelessly taken from random sources just to feed the hunger. You can overindulge or deprive yourself, share or eat alone. They mean what you make them mean."

"And what do they mean to you?"

He shrugged. "I have partaken at times just to feed the body, but overall I go for the whole mind/body/emotional experience. I would rather cook for myself when I'm just hungry instead of grabbing fast food. And you?"

"The same I suppose." She toyed with a shrimp tail. "I guess I never had you pegged as someone who attached a lot of emotional significance to the whole physical thing."

He shrugged. "You pegged me wrong, then. I like to bullshit, but I'm not entirely shallow."

"No! I didn't mean I thought you were shallow; I just... I don't know. In my experience, the physical is just physical for guys, even if there's a relationship involved the sex is just that - not really making love, just fucking."

"There's a real difference between the two. Maybe you've just been involved with guys who lacked the depth and sensitivity to understand that."

"Maybe. Or maybe they just didn't give a damn about me."

"Either way, you've definitely been picking the wrong guys. Sometimes, someone who's been in the background of your life might be the one who could make you happiest, but you look right past them because you're so accustomed to having them as part of your life they've become almost invisible to you."

Sara looked at him for a few moments, then touched his cheek. "You aren't invisible, Greg," she whispered softly.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's chapter 4. A word of warning though - you might hate this one. I'm not real sure I like it, and I wrote it. It's a little dark in spots.

Yet another warning: Once again., I embark on a subject I know nothing about. I have never gone scuba diving. All references are based on friend's accounts, imagination, and old episodes of Jacques Cousteau. Sadly, I am poor and live 100 miles inland. Such adventures I must undertake vicariously.

"I'm already exhausted, and I just put the wet suit on."

Greg grinned. "Yeah, but you can rest up on the ride out there. Believe me, the experience will be worth it all. "

An hour and a half later, watching a little spotted puffer fish hover above the red cup coral, she had to agree with him. Hawaii's underwater world was an amazing jumble of color and motion. At one point they had been in the midst of a vivid school of yellow tangs; like buttercups in motion the creatures had darted by, then fluttered out of sight. Later they had watched a strange red shrimp on stilts amble past a brightly-hued sea cucumber. It was like being immersed in an extraterrestrial world, then watching the resident creatures go about their lives. Greg touched her arm and pointed upward. She nodded and headed toward the surface.

She was laughing as she pulled off her mask. "That was incredible!"

"Wasn't it? I couldn't believe that school of tangs."

"And the little puffer fish. They were adorable!"

"I saw a couple of trigger fish out there, too. Very good dive!"

"I see why you love it."

"Yeah, we are definitely going to have to do this again this vacation."

She sighed. "Thank you, Greg. I have never had so much fun in my life, and this is just day 3!"

He pulled her into a quick hug. "That's sweet, Sara, but your being here is more fun for me than for you. "

"I doubt that seriously."

"Don't. I really enjoy your company. I always wanted to spend more time together."

She grinned. "We have 2 weeks. After this you might be screaming to get away from me."

He pulled her closer. "Never." He pressed his face into her hair. "So you're really having a good time?"

Sara sighed but made no attempt to get away. "The best."

"Greg!" From her hot pink talons to her bared belly the leggy blond looked like Paris Hilton, except for the fact that she was ten or fifteen years older, her implants were several cup sizes larger, and she had no chihuahua. She flung herself at a startled Greg, wrapping her arms around him in an intimate embrace. "Greg! I haven't seen you in sooooo long."

"Angela! Yeah, uh, it's, ah, been a long time." He squirmed, clearly trying to extricate himself, but Paris was having none of it. "I'd like you to meet my, uh, my girlfriend Sara."

The blond finally released him. She flashed an insincere, we-both-know-I'm-hotter-than-you smile at Sara. "Hi. Greg and I are, mmmm, old friends."

"I haven't seen you in seven years. What have you been up to?" Greg's voice was even.

"Got married."

"Hal Stevens. That I knew."

"Yeah. Got divorced. Got married again. Now I'm separated."

"Wow." Sara's tone was cool. "It's been an eventful seven years for you, then." She smiled, but not warmly.

"So, how about you? What's been going on in your life since, you know?"

He shrugged. "Work. I'm a Crime Scene Investigator in Las Vegas now; so is Sara. We work. A lot."

Seeing his discomfort, Sara wrapped her arms around him. "And I keep him VERY busy when we aren't working, isn't that right, darling?"

"Yeah, uh, yeah. That you do."

Faux Paris' eyes narrowed. "Well. It was SO nice seeing you again. Next time I'm in Vegas I'll give you a call."

"Uh, okay, that'd be... okay..." He turned to Sara as the woman stalked off.

"Thank you," he whispered. "That was the last person on the face of planet Earth I ever wanted to see again."

Sara smirked; for some reason her heart lightened at the knowledge Greg was not interested in the leggy, buxom, venomous creature they had just encountered.

"That's certainly a strong reaction."

"Yeah, well. I have my reasons."

They ended up at their usual table on the deck. After ordering Sara excused herself and walked to the ladies room.

"We meet again." The unpleasantly familiar voice came from behind her as she stood at the sink washing her hands.

"Yes, well, what do you know."

"You're wondering who I am, how I know Greg, aren't you?"

Sara shrugged. "He'll tell me if he wants me to know. Evidently you aren't anyone all that important to him, or he would've mentioned you."

Angela smiled viciously. "You'd think. I'm something you'll never be, darling. I'll always be dear to his heart, and there's not a damned thing you or anyone else can do about it." She sat on the bench across from the sinks and continued. "He was helping his aunt for the summer. He was 22, nerdy and awkward and way too smart for his own good. I was 30, and I'd come to stay with Hal, my fiance at the time. I took surfing lessons from sweet Greggy." The woman licked her lips. "Greg of course immediately fell for me. Hal was spending most of his time flying back and forth to the mainland - 'business' - and I was really enjoying the attention. Greggy was such an attentive suitor - not really my type, I mean, come on, REALLY - but he was the only unattached guy around, not terrible looking, so I went for it. Greggy was a virgin back then, but I took care of that. We spent a lot of 'quality time' together that summer."

"You used him." Sara spoke through clenched teeth, barely resisting an intense urge to hit the woman before her.

"Such words! He enjoyed it just as much as I did. By the end of the summer he was actually pretty good at it. Then Hal and I got married, and Greggy and I parted ways."

"You used him. He cared about you, and you broke his heart."

Angela shrugged. "I doubt seriously I broke his heart - of course, he DID seem upset that day at the wedding. No matter. He's fine now, and it's all part of his history. You know, you really should be thanking me. He owes many of his, ah, skills to what I taught him that summer."

Sara drew herself up to her full height and adopted her fiercest expression, the one that made grown men slink away, their hands covering their testicles. "I am only going to tell you this once, so you need to listen. Stay. Away. From. Greg. Do not even THINK about approaching him again, or I will fuck you up. You have abused him all you're going to. Do we understand one another?"

The shorter woman nodded, her eyes wide.

"Good. I'm glad we do, because I'm not bluffing. If you bother him again - EVER again - I will hurt you, and I'll start with your face." Sara spun around and walked past a stunned Angela and out of the restroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Some more angst, I'm afraid. This has gotten a little dark. What can I say; the story has a mind of its own.

Greg frowned as Sara slid into her chair. "You okay? You were in there for a while."

She smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine. Just had to adjust my makeup."

"Uh - huh. You aren't wearing any, but okay." He sighed. "Look, I saw Angela go in behind you. I can only imagine what she told you. You should know that if she was the last living woman left on earth, I would take an oath of celibacy on the spot."

Sara raised her eyebrow. "I believe you."

"What did she tell you?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Please."

Sara sighed. "Fine. Okay, she explained your... the history of your relationship with her."

"Do you want to hear my side of it?"

"If you want to tell me, although it really isn't any of my business."

"Yes, it is." He took her hand. "Let's take a walk on the beach."

They were several hundred feet away from the restaurant when he began to speak. "Alice had asked me to come for the summer to help out. I jumped at the chance. I was young, naive, nerdy, painfully shy around women - I'd never even had a steady girlfriend at that point. Angela was here with her boyfriend. When she started flirting with me I couldn't believe it. She was beautiful, confident - the type of woman who would never give me a second look, yet there she was, actually seeming interested. I developed a huge crush on her. With time I've realized it wasn't love, but at the time nobody could've convinced me of that. We got, um, involved. The boyfriend would go away for days at a time, and when he was gone... well, I'm sure you can figure it out. I thought, since she and I were lovers, I thought she would call off the wedding, break it off with the guy. We didn't talk about it, I just figured that was how it would go. " He sighed. "I will never forget the last time we were together. Afterward she turned to me, then matter-of-factly told me her wedding was the next day. I told her I loved her, asked her to call it off, asked her to be with me instead. She laughed at me, Sara, laughed and said it had been fun, but she didn't love me. Besides, she said, I wasn't the kind of guy she'd ever even consider getting serious with. She got married the next afternoon right on the beach behind us. I had to serve punch at the reception. It was pretty humiliating."

Sara squeezed his hand. "That must've been horrible for you."

"Yeah, you could say so. When I got home I, um, went into a pretty heavy depression after that, started doing a lot of drinking, not leaving the house except to go to work. One night I decided life wasn't worth the trouble, took some of the Valium I'd been on for years for anxiety, then slit my wrists. I woke up hours later covered in blood." He sighed. "It scared me enough to realize I was out of control. I didn't REALLY want to die, just wanted to stop hurting. I stopped drinking, got on Zoloft, and found a therapist I could trust. With her help I realized that I had really severe self-esteem problems, that the only positive I'd ever been able to find in myself focused on my intellectual achievements. With time I began to understand that I had a lot to offer a woman, that I really was a pretty decent guy. I dropped the nerds-r-us hair and clothes and started to develop my own style, started making myself break out of the shyness and approach ladies more. To my utter astonishment not all that many of them seemed horrified, although like everyone else I got turned down a lot. A year later I got the job in Vegas and left the past behind. I still have confidence issues, and anxiety problems, and inside I'm still a little shy, but I've realized that nearly everyone else has some of the same self-doubts I do, and I try to look past myself and help the people around me feel better about themselves. What happened made me understand the importance of not playing games with other peoples' feelings. I never misrepresent what I feel for a woman. Yes, I flirt, and I like to go out, but I'm not a user. I figure, if things had happened differently, I might not be able to say that."

"Thank you for telling me all this. You're such a positive, optimistic person now, I never realized you'd battled depression."

He smiled sadly. "Still do, at times. I have a hard time not getting down when I see all the horrible things people manage to do to each other."

Sara sighed. "That's the CSI syndrome, I'm afraid. There are cases you can't help taking to heart. I fight it myself, probably more often than is healthy."

"We can't help what we feel, Sara. You do need to have more of a life outside of work, though."

She chuckled. "Why is it when other people tell me that I want to strangle them, but when you say it I can only agree with you?"

He shrugged. "Maybe it's my charm." "Probably."


	6. Chapter 6

This part is full of shocking events - no angst or misery, though, just some major surprises. PG13 for adult situations, though nothing terribly racy. 

Chapter 6

"So what are we going to do today?"

Greg grinned over at her. "Today, my dear, today we're going to take a nice boat ride to the lovely island of Kaua'i. Once there we will be deposited at Na Pali State Park, where we will spend the entire day hiking, picnicing, and just enjoying nature in general. The boat will return at 6:00 sharp. It runs three times a day, by the way, so if you're tired of nature by, say, 2:00 in the afternoon, we can return then."

"Well, I can see you've thought of everything there. Blankets, towels, lots and lots of bottled water and sodas, lots of food too I see. Sunscreen, bug repellant, first aid kit, cell phone. What's in the backpack?"

"More food, Gatorade, change of clothes for both of us, tent in case it rains. Advil, Tums, stuff like that. Condoms." He laughed as she shot him a withering glance. "In case you find yourself suddenly unable to resist my animal magnetism. Hey, it could happen."

"I'll try to restrain myself as best I can."

"Ed's going to take us to the dock in about ten minutes. You about ready?"

"Absolutely. Bring on the jungle adventure."

"Wow." Sara looked around her, then back at the rapidly-departing shuttle boat. "I didn't realize this place was so isolated."

"Yeah, only access to this part of the park is by boat, and there goes the boat, so we definitely have the place to ourselves."

"It's beautiful."

Greg was studying a brochure. "I think the trailhead's up that way." He pointed down the beach. "Want to check it out, or would you rather go for a swim first?'

"Hmmmmm. It's getting hot, so how about a swim?"

"Sounds good."

"You know, I've never been on a beach private enough that you could lose your swimsuit and no one would know."

Greg laughed. "I have actually done that here before, believe it or not."

"And your date didn't mind?" Sara felt an uncomfortable stab of something that couldn't be jealousy as she pictured him skinnydipping with Angela.

"I was alone at the time, so no, I didn't mind."

"I can see the appeal of nudism. It must be an amazingly free feeling, running through the waves with no swimsuit to bind you."

"It was wonderful. I spent the better part of a morning out here naked. Then I finally had to put some clothes on." He laughed. "I didn't want a sunburn, you know, there."

"Yeah, even sunscreen has its limits."

He looked at her speculatively. "Please don't get mad at me for saying this, but if you wanted, we could, you know, bare it. I'm not meaning this in a bad or a sexual way or anything - goes without saying I'd be a complete gentleman."

"I'm sure you would. I'm just not sure I'd be comfortable with that." She sighed. It really sucked when you wanted to do something but were afraid to.

He shrugged. "Your choice. You never know, though. You might like it. Think about it, though - there's really nothing intrinsically sexual about nudity. Clothes are basically just a cultural thing, really, often more about climate than modesty. Nudist colonies are full of people who have rejected the societal rule of always being clothed in the presence of others, and those people are no more or less sexually active than any other group of people. Nudity is really about vulnerability, about being exposed, much more than it's about sexuality. In reality, there's not very many few square inches of cloth between being on the beach in a bikini and being on that same beach naked."

Sara was silent for a few moments. "And you're sure no one else is going to show up?"

"Not before 2:00 pm."

"Turn around."

He grinned. "Yes ma'am. I'll lose mine as you lose yours."

"This is without a doubt the craziest thing I have ever done." 

"You'll love it, Sara. Trust me."

Eyes closed and naked, she turned around.

"You can open your eyes now. Having them closed hasn't rendered me unable to see you." She opened her eyes and there was Greg, naked and laughing. "There, now see, you did it and terrible things didn't happen."

"I'm on a beach with no clothes on."

"Yes. We both are. Isn't it wonderful?"

She smirked. "It is."

"Now that we've gotten the uncomfortable part out of the way, let's go in the water!"

They played in the ocean for over an hour, then unfolded a blanket and laid in the sun. Sara was amazed how fast she'd gotten used to being unclothed, also how good it felt to be unencumbered by clothes. Greg had seemed pretty comfortable with the situation from the start. Despite the fairly shocking network of raised, discolored scars that covered most of his back and neck he seemed comfortable baring himself to her, and she had quickly adopted the same matter-of-fact attitude to their shared state of undress. 

Sara turned to Greg with a grin. "Let's move here when we win the lottery."

"Absolutely with you on that. This is the life."

"No telling the people at work you had me naked on the beach."

He sighed in mock horror. "Sara! I am a gentleman. I wouldn't do that. Being naked in public is a private matter. We wouldn't want the others to know. Although if Catherine was with us, she would bare it right along with us."

Sara nodded. "So would Warrick."

"Nicky wouldn't. Neither would Grissom. Which is good, because I'm guessing Griss has so much hair on his back he could pass for a grizzly with a perm."

Sara laughed. "Doc Robbins would do it."

"Hell yeah. Archie and David wouldn't. Jackie totally would, though."

"In a minute. Brass wouldn't, and I'm so very glad."

"Bobby D might."

Sara wrinkled her nose. "Nah."

"You don't think so?"

"No. Hodges just might, though."

"Ewww! Thanks for that lovely mental image. Yet again, I celebrate the fact that he isn't here."

"Mia absolutely wouldn't."

Greg laughed. "Oh, no, no. And not out of modesty, either. She'd keep her clothes on because the outdoors has germs in it."

"She's sweet, but she's definitely obsessive-compulsive."

Greg laughed. "You think?" He frowned. "I wonder if she ever has sex."

"Greg!"

"No, I'm serious. Because you can give the python a raincoat, but what about kissing? How about all the other touching that goes along with it? This is a woman who refuses to eat food prepared by other people because a few microscopic droplets of saliva might have gotten onto it. How could she handle french kissing, let alone, you know, all the other stuff?"

Sara shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe she compartmentalizes. Maybe it doesn't bother her with someone she's in a relationship with."

"Maybe." He grabbed her hand. "Ready for another dip?"

"Absolutely. Let's go." 


	7. Chapter 7

Here's Chapter 7. Thank you very very much for reading, and for all the wonderful encouraging comments. BIG hugs to you all!

Few ugly words in this one, nothing too bad, though. Maybe a PG13 again.

Sara pulled on her shorts and T-shirt as she readied herself for their hike. No bikini underneath. After spending the morning frolicking in the buff she couldn't work up enough modesty to sacrifice comfort in service to the universal principal of undergarments. She smiled as she wondered what she would've thought if someone had told her five years ago, one year ago that she'd be spending the day naked on a Hawaii beach - with Greg Sanders, no less. She would never have believed them, yet here she was, having one of the best days of her entire life.

"I have the trail map." Greg held up a multicolored brochure. "Trail starts just over there."

The trail started easily enough, taking them through a stunning array of vibrantly-hued foliage and flowers. As they continued on, though, the trek became more difficult because they were slowly but surely climbing a small mountain.

"Okay, which way do we go?" Sara pointed ahead toward a 3-way fork in the path.

"I don't know. This isn't on the map, and it isn't marked."

"So what do we do?"

He shrugged. "Pick a path, I guess."

Sara studied the paths before her. "I don't know. It's probably the middle one, don't you think? That one looks like it's been used more."

"I'm not sure, but if we take it and it doesn't seem to be taking us anywhere we can always turn around."

"True."

From that point they seemed to be ascending quickly. The path forked a second and then a third time, each time leaving them on a narrower trail. At the fourth fork Greg looked at Sara and shook his head. "This is some kind of fucking labyrinth. We need to turn back. We definitely aren't in Kansas any more."

Sara opened her mouth to voice agreement when a flash of noise and motion shot out of the woods behind them, then turned and began barrelling toward them. "Oh, shit!" Greg grabbed her arm and began running through the woods. Never slow to take a hint, Sara took off running as fast as she could go.

"What... the hell... is that?" she gasped as they ran from the screaming mystery creature.

"Wild... wild boar. ... has tusks..."

After what seemed to be miles of running, the hooved fury seemed to have abandoned them. Greg stopped and looked around. "I think... think he lost interest."

Sara flopped down. "That's good. I think I'm about to have a heart attack."

"We are way, way off the trail now. I don't have a damned clue where we are."

Sara looked around. "Plus we really don't want to meet up with our friend Puumba back there again. What time is it?"

Greg looked at his watch. "5:23. Even if we knew exactly where we were going, which we don't, we'd have a hard time getting to the beach in time to meet the boat. I'm sorry, Sara. I seem to have gotten us into a real mess this time."

She touched his hand. "This isn't your fault, Greg. We'll find our way out. We may not be able to get back on our original path, but if we head downhill we'll get to the beach eventually."

"True. But in the meanwhile, we're spending the night in the park."

She looked untroubled. "Want to try and head downhill a bit before we set up camp?"

Greg hoisted up the backpack. "Good idea. Let's get moving."

Greg dropped the pack in the small clearing. "It's getting dark," he panted.

"Yeah. This is a pretty good place to set up camp, though."

He looked around. "Yeah. I think we're fairly close to the beach, which is good - although finding the exact spot where the boat picks up might be tricky." He pulled the tent out of the backpack and began the process of setup.

"Your aunt knows where we are, right?'

He nodded. "She's going to be worried sick by tomorrow morning. She'll probably send someone over to look for us." One more maneuver, and he stepped back. "But on a happier note, we have our home for the night. Milady..."

They grabbed the blankets and towels and climbed into the small tent. 

"It's pretty comfortable at least." Greg pulled her into his arms and tucked the covers around her as he spoke. "And we have plenty food and water for tomorrow."

Sara snuggled closer. "Yeah. This is actually sort of nice, for camping."

"Yeah. You're good to snuggle."

She giggled. "So are you."

"I could get used to this." He buried his face in her hair. "You're like a teddy bear, only you smell better."

"That's certainly an unusual compliment."

"It's the truth. You know, I think I miss this more than anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Being unattached, not having a girlfriend, I miss the cuddling and the affection most of all."

"Yeah. I miss that too. Lately it seems like the whole game of dating has been more trouble than it's been worth. Vegas is an easy town to get laid in, but a hard one to find someone who wants anything deeper than a one night stand."

He sighed. "Depends on where you're looking, I guess." He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I like this a lot."

Sara sighed and drifted into sleep. She awoke the next morning to find Greg gently stroking her hair. He lay on his back, and she was on her side, one arm and and one leg draped over him. He smiled over at her. "Good morning!"

She should move off of him, she knew she should, but for the moment she was going to stay right where she was. "What time is it?"

"6:04 AM. We should head out in a bit."

"Yeah. We should."

Slowly they untangled from one another and crawled out of the little tent. 


	8. Chapter 8

Hello! Got chapter 8 for you. Hope you like it!

An hour and a half later, they were headed toward the beach. It really was the beach, too, and they were mercifully close. The trick would be finding the part of the beach where the boat was going to meet them. "At least we'll be close," Sara said hopefully. "If nothing else we should make the 2:00."

He nodded. "I hope we make this one. "

"Yeah, me too. Damned wild pigs."

"Beach sweet beach! Oh yes oh yes oh yes!" Greg walked up to the ocean and looked up and down the beach. "We're actually really close. It's less than a quarter mile that way."

Sara whooped and threw her arms around him. "We did it! We made it back!"

As predicted, Ed was aboard the shuttle boat. "You two look like you been pulled through a keyhole. What happened?"

Greg looked at Sara and grinned. "Well, it started out as a simple hike. At some point we took the wrong trail at a fork..."

"Then we took two more turns, thinking we were still on the trail..." chimed in Sara.

"Then we got chased totally off that path by a wild boar..." Greg waved his arms wildly, quite into the story.

"By then it was way too late to catch the boat back, so we walked downhill until it got dark, made camp, got up early and headed out..." added Sara.

"And here we are," finished Greg with a flourish.

"Well, I'm glad. Alice is climbing the walls. Had to give her a Xanax before I left. She was making herself crazy."

Greg smiled at Sara. "We were fine. Really."

"We were. We found our way out, no real problem."

"Well..."

"No, Greg. Really. I felt totally safe the whole time."

"Except when that wild boar was after us."

"Right. Except for that."

"So you two went and had yourselves an adventure." Ed cackled. "Young love thrives on such. Now you got a good story to tell your grandkids one day."

"So what are we going to do with the rest of our day?" Greg sat on the edge of Sara's bed, placing one hand on her back. She was laying on her stomach, her freshly-washed hair a mass of damp tendrils at her neck. 

"Right now I feel a pressing need to vegetate for a bit."

"Sounds like a plan. Scoot over."

She glanced over at him, a smart comment about having a bed of his own ready to slip from her lips, but instead of saying it she just sighed and wordlessly moved over to make room for him. He slid in and pressed close, one arm and leg thrown over her, his face nestled into the curve of her neck. "Mmmmm, this was a good idea. I'm still tired."

"Me too."

He sighed. "This is nice."

"We should take a nap."

"We should. We have a whole week left for adventuring; we should rest up."

It was close to midnight when Sara finally woke up. Greg was wrapped around her as completely as humanly possible, his face pressed to her throat. They were facing each other, their legs and arms tangled together. She smiled into the darkness. She liked this way more than she should. With a sigh she closed her eyes and drifted back off.

It rained the next day, so they spent it playing chess, talking, and watching movies borrowed from Alice. At bedtime, Sara bid Greg a good night and crawled beneath the covers. Ten minutes later the covers lifted and a warm body curled around her. "Night," he whispered into her neck. And that was how it went from that point on. Greg now slept with her. It was wonderful, but she was going to have a very hard time adjusting to sleeping alone once they got home.

"I like sleeping with you," he whispered their last night on the island. "I'm glad you're letting me."

"I like it too," she whispered back.

Now she stood alone in her apartment, unpacking her things. Tonight was her last night away from work. Greg had dropped her off several hours before, and already she missed him. It was strange how quickly he'd become central in her life; they'd been friends for years, but somehow something had shifted. Things had changed, and she longed for his presence. 

Later, tossing and turning restlessly in her cold, lonely bed, she felt his absence like a toothache. This emptiness, this loneliness was the price for all those warm nights in his arms. It was one thing to sleep alone when you didn't know what you were missing, quite another to experience the rich luxury of loving arms, then have to return to a cold solitary bed. She wasn't good enough at self-deception to be able to deny the truth - she was in love with him. The awareness crept over her in waves. Somehow she had fallen headlong in love with Greg Sanders, and there wasn't a thing she could do to change it.

Greg counted the ceiling tiles over his bed for the forty-third time. The last two weeks had been ecstatic, but now he was back to life alone in Vegas. He missed her beyond words. He missed her smile, her laughter, her keen mind, her warmth pressed softly into his arms as he courted sleep. He should never have crawled into bed with her; now his own words echoed in his head - "I could get used to this." Addicted was probably a better word. He definitely should've seen this coming.

He was in love with her - nothing new, really; he had been for a long time. Something had changed, though, and now he was in deep, deep trouble. Now he'd had a little taste of what life with her would be like, and he wanted it all, needed it all. What sealed his fate was the nagging awareness that maybe things weren't entirely one-sided any more. He sighed and rolled up out of the bed. Heaven help him, he might lose her entirely, but he had to try. He couldn't not try, not now. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9. Things heat up a little in this one, so be warned. No stronger than your average Harlequin romance, though, so I'd give it an R. 

Greg rapped softly on Sara's front door. It was the middle of the night, but the lights were still on, and he could hear the drone of her television, so she might still be up.

He shifted nervously. What was he going to say to her? He definitely needed a strategy. This he'd have to ease into. He couldn't very well just walk in and blurt it out...

"Greg!" The door was open, and a surprised-looking Sara looked him over. "Come in."

Hands jammed deep in his pockets, he slunk in. "Thanks."

"So." She seemed almost as nervous as he felt. "What... what brings you here?"

"I ah, I just... Can we sit down?"

She nodded and moved over to sit next to him on the sofa.

"I - I missed you, Sara. I couldn't sleep." He fidgeted and sighed. "I have, um, feelings for you. I just thought I should tell you that."

Sara smiled shyly. "I missed you, too, Greg. It really got me thinking."

"Yeah. Um, me too. See, the thing is, I'm in love with you. I have been for a long time, but then we went to Hawaii and we were together all the time and it was so good, you were so warm and sweet in my arms and then we came home and there I was all by myself and I missed you so much I decided to come over here and tell you. Sara, why are you laughing at me?"

"I'm not laughing at YOU, Greg, I'm in love with you too. I couldn't sleep; I've been up watching infomercials and moping because I knew there was no damned way I'd get up the courage to tell you. "

He pulled her into his arms and took her face between his hands. "I love you so much," he whispered, then took her lips in a soft, sweet kiss. His tongue begged entry, and she gladly parted her lips for him, moaning when he eagerly deepened the kiss. Fire ran through her veins as the kiss went on and on, breaking only by the need for air. "Oh, Sara," he whispered. "I've wanted to do that for longer than you know." He pulled her across his lap and began raining soft, gentle kisses across her lips, her cheeks, finally moving to her tender neck and ears. She melted under his adoring caresses, her bones turning to Jello from his touch.

She whimpered as his tongue brushed over her jugular. He had found The Spot and he knew it; he intensified his efforts, and she felt every drop of resistance drain out of her. "You like that, hmm," he whispered against her neck.

Oh, yes, she did. She liked what his hands were doing under her shirt even better. He had magic hands, of that she was convinced. Somehow her clothes were disappearing, and his hands were everywhere. He stopped long enough to get her to her bedroom, then tenderly laid her on her bed and intensified his ardent attentions. "Love you so much," he whispered against her lips as he merged with her. "Oh, Sara..."

In passion's aftermath they collapsed in a sated, exhausted tangle. When the sunlight woke them they would have a lot to discuss, but for now all was right in their world.


	10. Chapter 10

It's done it's done it's done ! Here's the ending right here here it is yes indeedy. 

I need to give up cold medicine, don't I.

Chapter 10 The Morning After

Sara stirred as sunlight snuck in around the edges of the blinds in undeniable proof it was morning. Greg mumbled in his sleep and pulled her closer. She smiled and stroked his cheek, his morning beardstubble sandpaper against her hand. They were lovers now, so she supposed he wouldn't mind her touching him when they were awake, but for now she'd enjoy sneaking a little touch.

The night before had been amazing. He had made love to her slowly, tenderly, his gentle touch and loving words setting her ablaze and making her feel utterly cherished. They'd slept, then awakened to love again. She was at peace, unplagued by doubts and insecurities, but they did need to talk about what had happened. To be sure, the shift in their relationship was wonderful, but they still worked together, and both of them had to adjust to a monumental shift in what they were to one another.

His eyes opened, and he immediately ran his hand down her body. "You aren't wearing any clothes," he whispered, then kissed her.

"Neither are you," she answered against his lips.

"No, I'm not. So, are we going to sleep together naked every day now ?"

"I don't see why not - though we probably won't get as much sleep that way."

He chuckled. "We do have some things to figure out."

"We do. Where would you like to start?"

"The basics, I guess. So I'm assuming we're together now?"

His expression was anxious."Yes, Greg, I think that's a pretty safe assumption."

He sighed. "Good. Okay. Living arrangements. Together? Not? My place? Yours? Maybe aim for a place together eventually?"

"What do YOU think?"

"Together. Definitely together, don't care whose place, but I would like us to share a place one day. If you want. Totally just if you want."

She laughed. "My place for now. I'll get you a key."

He beamed. "And I'll get you one. Next question: How about work?"

Sara shrugged. "We aren't breaking any rules. How about let's not volunteer anything, but we'll tell the truth if asked? I'm not ashamed of this, but at the same time it's nobody's business but ours."

"Yeah, but you know they're going to find out eventually."

She nodded. "And that's okay. I'd just like for us to get used to, you know, being a couple before we let ourselves be open to scrutiny like that."

"So you'd rather I didn't suck my initials onto your face just yet."

"Exactly."

He sighed. "I'm so happy."

She nestled close. "Me too. We'll have our problems eventually. Everybody does."

"And we'll get past them." He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the palm. "This is worth working for. I love you, and I want to make you happy. I plan to do everything possible to accomplish that."

"You already have, Greg. You already have..."


End file.
